These Spicy Chicken Tenders are ridiculously delicious! Chicken strips marinated in buttermilk and hot sauce, then deep fried for extra crispiness. Need I say more?
I mean we could totally just leave it at that, but I guess you’re gonna need some sort of recipe right? Well, without further ado, let’s get straight into it…
Chicken Tenders
These are perfect as a side dish, or even as just finger food with a dip. Heck – do we really need an excuse to whip up a batch of crispy tenders?!
Ideally you want actual chicken tenders. They are, as the name suggests, ever so slightly more tender than the breast itself. If you can’t get your hands on chicken tenders, you can dice up chicken breast into strips which works just as well!
The first step to getting juicy tenders is marinating them. Follow me…
Buttermilk Chicken Tenders
Like all good fried chicken recipes, these bad boys start with a buttermilk marinade. Buttermilk is great for a few reasons. Firstly, it allows you to easily coat the chicken with flour (unlike eggs which are far more likely to go clumpy). Secondly, it’s slightly acidic, meaning it penetrates and tenderises the chicken as it marinates. Because who doesn’t want tender chicken tenders?
I can’t find buttermilk, what can I substitute?
One sub you could use is yogurt (for acidity) thinned out with a little milk (to help texture for dredging). You could also add acidity to milk (white vinegar, lemon juice) and let it rest, then mix and use as a marinade.
Spicy Chicken Marinade
The marinade itself is really simple. You just need buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and white pepper.
How long to marinate for?
Ideally you’re looking for a minimum of 2 hours, with best results leaving over night. As long as you have time for though, even 30mins is better than no marinating!
Process shots: add buttermilk, hot sauce, salt & pepper to a bowl (photo 1), stir then add tenders (photo 2), combine then cover and marinate (photo 3).
Spicy Chicken Breading
Okay, so we’ve got a nice kick of spice from the hot sauce in the marinade, now let’s talk flour breading. The main heat here comes from cayenne pepper. Alongside onion & garlic powder and paprika, these tenders result in a gorgeous burst of flavour.
Baking Powder
One of the key ingredients in the dredging mix is baking powder. When this hits the oil it causes a reaction, which in turn causes lots of tiny bubbles. This is what gives you that crispy, airy batter!
Process shots: Add flour and spices to a tray or bowl (photo 1), combine until fully blended (photo 2), add one chicken strip at a time (photo 3), fully coat, ensuring you cover every spec of the chicken (photo 4), rest on a wire rack until ready to deep fry (photo 5).
Deep Fried Chicken Tenders
Unfortunately/fortunately (which ever way you look at it) to get the true KFC style crispy chicken, it’s deep frying all the way.
Hey, nobody said these were healthy 😂
Best Oil to use?
You want an oil that a) has a neutral flavour and b) has a high smoking point. Vegetable and sunflower work great. Olive oil is NOT suitable.
What temp to fry at?
You want to get the oil to around 350F/175C. The temp is likely to drop when the chicken hits the oil, and that’s fine, just maintain the heat.
Serving Spicy Chicken Tenders
I usually serve these as finger food with a dip. My favourites are Blue Cheese Dip, BBQ Mayo and Garlic and Herb Dip – but do check out all my Delicious Dips for more inspo!
You could also make a meal out for them and serve them with Fries or Wedges!
If you’re looking for more Chicken Tenders recipes be sure to check out my Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders and Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders!
For more spicy chicken recipes head over to my Spicy Chicken Pasta and Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese!
Okay, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these Spicy Chicken Tenders recipe shall we!?
How to make Spicy Chicken Tenders (Full Recipe & Video)
Spicy Fried Chicken Tenders
Equipment:
- Suitably Sized Pot (for deep frying)
- Shallow bowl or Curved Tray (for dredging)
- Large Mixing Bowl & Cling Film (for marinating)
- Kitchen Thermometer
- Cooling Wrap & Paper Towels
- Tongs
Ingredients (check list):
- 1.3lb / 600g Chicken Tenders (see notes)
- 3-4 cups / 750ml - 1 litre Vegetable Oil (see notes)
Marinade
- 1 cup / 250ml Buttermilk (see notes)
- 1/4 cup / 60ml Hot Sauce (I use Frank's)
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Dry Mix
- 1 3/4 cups / 250g Plain Flour
- 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper (see notes)
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp EACH: Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Baking Powder, Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions:
- Combine chicken with the buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and white pepper. Cover and place in the fridge for as long as you have time for. Preferably overnight, absolute minimum 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a shallow dish or curved tray combine flour, cayenne pepper, baking powder, paprika, onion & garlic powder, black pepper and salt. One by one, coat your chicken strips in the dry mix, making sure you cover every spec of chicken. Press the mix right into the chicken so it goes nice and flaky. Place on a wire rack and repeat.
- Heat up your oil to around 350F/175C. To test without a thermometer, drop a tiny piece of batter in the oil, if it very slowly rises to the top, you should be good to go. A medium heat for around 8-10 minutes should obtain this. The temp will slightly drop when the chicken hits, which is fine, just maintain that heat (no lower than 320F/160C).
- Working in batches of 3-4, carefully place your strips into the oil. Separate them with tongs if they instantly stick together, then leave for a few mins until they start turning golden. Flip over and leave for another couple of minutes until deep golden and visibly crispy. If your oil is too hot simply pour in more oil/turn down the heat. If you're not confident with deep frying then test one strip first.
- Place on a wire rack with a tray or paper towel underneath. Enjoy with a dip or as a side!
Quick 1 min demo!
Notes:
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition:
If you loved this Spicy Chicken Tenders recipe then be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
40 Comments
JD
November 7, 2022 at 12:03 amThese were awesome. If you’re going to make this recipe…and you have teenagers…make more than you think you need. My family loved them. Side note…I did not have buttermilk…or any of the potential substitutes listed on hand. I mixed about 1/3 cup of sour cream in with milk. Worked great.
Chris Collins
November 7, 2022 at 11:35 amGreat to hear these went down with you and the family! 🙂 C.
Adrian
May 29, 2022 at 2:44 amVery yum. I like it very hot and my wife not so much so we did the half cayenne, wasn’t hot at all. So trying again following the recipe exactly. We will wait and see how hot it is this time.
Chris Collins
May 31, 2022 at 8:07 pmGlad to hear they went down well, Adrian! Feel free to up the cayenne to your taste! Thanks so much for popping back and leaving a review 🙂 C.
Lee Dodd
February 16, 2022 at 1:41 amHo hum, spicy, Not. Won’t make again
Chris Collins
February 16, 2022 at 12:37 pmSorry to hear the spice level wasn’t to your preference! You can always up the amount of cayenne next time 🙂
Wanda Clark
July 30, 2021 at 11:58 pmI have followed the directions exactly several times but the breading keeps falling off. Any suggestions?
Chris Collins
July 31, 2021 at 6:03 pmFew things might help:
– Make sure the chicken is close to room temp before it hits the oil. Cold meat seizes up and releases a lot of moisture, which might be pushing the breading off.
– Allow the chicken to rest a little before hitting the oil, just to help the batter and chicken glue together.
– Don’t move the chicken too much in the first instance when it’s in the oil. Again, just to give time for the batter to glue to the chicken.
– Really ensure you bread the chicken as well as you can. Get in every crack and crevice of the tenders and build up a nice thick, flaky crust. This step is crucial.
– Check oil temp is on point. Too low and the batter goes soggy and falls off. Too high and it’ll burn and flake off.
Hope these tips help! C. x
Kelly
September 25, 2023 at 12:01 amWhat about problems keeping the breading on while coating? Any helpful tips?
Chris Collins
September 28, 2023 at 10:23 amJust make sure you really squeeze the flour into the chicken. Really work it in, using the marinade to glue it to the chicken. C.
Devan
July 11, 2021 at 9:22 pmThis is honestly one of my family’s favorite recipes! Whenever I have people come to town, they ask me to make this! Although I make them into boneless wings & everyone sauces them to their liking. It’s even approved by our 4 year old!
Chris Collins
July 12, 2021 at 10:18 amThis is awesome to hear, Devan! Glad to hear the recipe goes down well, especially with the young’n! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Chalon Stewart
July 5, 2021 at 11:04 pmHi! Would you recommend homemade buttermilk over the yougurt solution? Soaking chicken tonight to make tomorrow. Let me know!
Chris Collins
July 6, 2021 at 8:07 pmHi Chalon, it won’t make a huge difference which you choose.
Peri Puckett
August 18, 2020 at 5:28 pmMarinating the chicken now. Can’t wait!
Do you think using smoked paprika would be a mistake / too strong? Easy enough to run to the store for standard sweet paprika, just wondered about your thoughts.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe , Chris : )
Chris Collins
August 18, 2020 at 9:42 pmHey Peri! It will be a noticeable difference, but not one I imagine will ruin the recipe, especially if you know you like smoked paprika! You’ll know for next time anyway 🙂 Hope you love the recipe!
Sandi
June 23, 2020 at 12:43 amThese are the BEST Spicy Chicken Tenders we ever ate. I did marinate the chicken over night and it was off the charts good. I’ve cooked for a long time and like to try different dishes different ways. I will look NO further. This is the only recipe for Chicken Tenders I’ll ever need. Thank you so much for sharing!
Chris Collins
June 23, 2020 at 10:11 amSandi! That’s so awesome to hear! Glad they went down well 🙂
angelina ramsey
June 7, 2020 at 1:19 amis there a substitute for the buttermilk?
Chris Collins
June 7, 2020 at 2:15 pmI’ve never subbed for this recipe before but your best bet is 3/4 cup plain unsweetened yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup milk to thin out.
Another good buttermilk sub is 1 cup milk mixed with 1 tbsp acid (white vinegar or lemon juice). Mix together and let it sit for 10mins before mixing in the chicken. This is a slightly thinner solution than buttermilk, so if you’re doing this just make sure you give it a thorough dredge through the flour.
Chris 🙂
Molly
May 28, 2020 at 12:17 amIt was so good. Definitely recommend 🙂
Chris Collins
May 28, 2020 at 9:41 amThanks, Molly! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Margaret
May 23, 2020 at 4:10 pmWhat about an air fryer
Chris Collins
May 23, 2020 at 5:47 pmHi Margaret! Unfortunately I haven’t tested this recipe in the air fryer, so can’t offer any advice on this. Sorry!
Ashley
June 12, 2020 at 5:09 pmI’ve made this recipe several times now and it’s one of my favorites. I tried it today in the air fryer, and would not recommend. They’re fine, but no matter how much cooking spray you put on, the breading gets too gummy. Deep fried is the way to go for these!
Chris Collins
June 12, 2020 at 5:17 pmThanks so much for popping back and sharing this Ashley!
Heather
May 2, 2020 at 5:36 amYour food makes me hungry!!!! I will be making these while in quarantine life!!!!
Chris Collins
May 2, 2020 at 10:22 amHaha thanks Heather! Hope you love them!! 🙂
Will
April 28, 2020 at 7:49 pmI’m trying this recipe tonight but changing a few things where the salt is concerned. I must question the nutritional facts as the sodium content per serving(not sure what a serving is) is 128 mg. Upon adding up all sodium in this recipe the total amount is 6,130 mg. Where the 128 mg comes from I’m not sure but it’s definitely incorrect.
Chris Collins
April 29, 2020 at 10:00 amHi Will! Thanks for spotting that. The serving size is based on 16 tenders, shared between 4 people. Hope you love the recipe 🙂
Sally
June 10, 2019 at 1:36 amWOW! These look amazing! Marinating the chicken in buttermilk is a new concept for me, but it makes perfect sense. Bookmarking your site and printing recipe for making very soon. Thanks!
Chris Collins
June 10, 2019 at 10:59 amAwesome! Enjoy 🙂
Raia Todd
June 9, 2019 at 11:32 pmMmmmm… those chicken tenders look perfect! I’m totally drooling all over my keyboard. Haha.
Chris Collins
June 10, 2019 at 10:59 amHaha! Missions accomplished!
Kristine
June 9, 2019 at 11:32 pmFlavorful and delicious is how I would describe this recipe! Made these for a family party and everyone LOVED them, thanks!
Chris Collins
June 10, 2019 at 10:58 amThat’s so great to hear! So happy they went down well 🙂
Tayo
June 9, 2019 at 10:20 pmOh my, this looks so good! Can’t wait to make this for my kids. Thanks for sharing!
Chris Collins
June 10, 2019 at 10:57 amEnjoy!! 🙂
Sunrita
June 9, 2019 at 8:58 pmLove the clever idea of soaking the chicken strips in buttermilk. I am sure it comes out really succulent.
Chris Collins
June 10, 2019 at 10:57 amOh yes! So juicy and tender!